Last week San Francisco hosted the Chinese Olympic Torch Relay. San Francisco was the only US city chosen in North America to hold the Torch Relay. Over the last several weeks the Relay has been subject to widespread protests from peace activists and human rights advocates. The protesters have been calling on the world community to hold China accountable to its horrible human rights record and boycott the opening ceremony of  the games in Beijing.

Although San Francisco was prepared for widespread protests, the relay did not come off as planned. City officials changed the route and then canceled the closing ceremony fearful of these widespread non-violent protests. Although the success of the relay is questionable, the festivities did provide a world stage for the continued debate over China's occupation of Tibet. Although very few attendees were able to see the torch many took part in discussions on the history and current state of the Chinese and Tibetan conflict.

As a member of MTV's Street Team 08' I, along with Gehry Oatey, went to San Francisco's embarcadero plaza to catch the closing ceremony and learn why people were taking to the streets in such large numbers. Although  there was no ceremony to watch we did find thousands of protesters and supporters of the Games.

Please watch the video segment to learn more about the Relay, Protests and History of the Conflict.

http://think.mtv.com/044FDFFFF0098A13200170098E6F5/

Thanks, Carl D. Brown